Asbestos Awareness Training

Asbestos is one of the most potent carcinogens known making

Asbestos Awareness Training

important for people to know. Lung cancer in workers exposed is as high as 7 times more frequent than in the general population and up to 12 times in the case of the people exposed are also smokers.  For many years risks from asbestos were not known or were downplayed until the illness started to appear and traced back to asbestos.

Another type of cancer, pleural mesothelioma due to occupational exposure to asbestos is 75%.  That is a frightening number that is world wide.  If people work around asbestos there is also a risk to workers’ family.  There have been reports of cancer in women by contact with the asbestos work clothes of her husband.  The spread of asbestos in the environment also involves a serious risk to the health of the entire population.

So what and where is asbestos?

Asbestos is the name used to designate a group of fibrous metamorphic minerals natural.   There are three main types of asbestos:

•  Crocidolite or Blue Asbestos
• Amosite or Brown Asbestos
• Chrysotile or White asbestos

Regardless – all types of asbestos are dangerous.   Asbestos minerals have long, strong fibers that can be separated and are sufficiently flexible to be intertwined and also withstand high temperatures. Because of these characteristics, asbestos has been used for a variety of manufactured products, mainly in construction materials (roofing shingles, tiles, paper products and asbestos cement products), friction products (automobile clutch , brakes, transmission components), heat-resistant textiles, packaging, gaskets, and coatings.  Asbestos awareness training is necessary for everyone so they will have all of the facts since some products may contain only one type of asbestos or a mixture of various types.

What is the risk?

Asbestos is made of fine fibers.  These fibers can be broken down into fibers much smaller and thinner. The smaller fibers are undetectable to the naked eye but can be inhaled.   Asbestos fibers are dangerous only if transported in the air and are inhaled, but all types of asbestos fibers are dangerous if inhaled.

Asbestos mainly affects the lungs and lining of the lungs, the pleura.  Breathing high levels of asbestos fibers have long or short exposure to high levels of asbestos can cause scar-like tissue in the lung and the pleura.  This disease is called asbestosis and commonly occurs in workers exposed to asbestos, but not the general public.  People with asbestosis have difficulty breathing, often a cough, and suffer severe cases heart enlargement. Asbestosis is a serious disease that can eventually lead to disability and death.

Breathing low levels of asbestos can cause changes in the pleura, called plaques. Pleural plaques can occur in workers and sometimes in people living in areas with high ambient levels of asbestos. The effects of pleural plaques on respiration are not usually serious, but exposure to higher levels can cause a thickening of the pleura which may restrict breathing.

It is known that breathing asbestos can increase the risk of cancer in humans.  There are two main types of cancer caused by exposure to asbestos: lung cancer and mesothelioma.  Mesothelioma is a cancer of the pleura or lining surrounding the abdominal cavity (peritoneum).  Cancer caused by asbestos is not immediately apparent but may become apparent after several years (development may be delayed from 15 to 60 years).  Studies of workers also suggest that breathing asbestos can increase chances of getting cancer in other body parts (stomach, intestine, esophagus, pancreas and kidneys), although this is uncertain.  There is no cure for any diseases caused by asbestos so if people around hazardous material, asbestos awareness training will benefit everyone that comes in contact with them to know how to reduce exposure.

What Is Asbestos?

Asbestos

is a rare mineral that occurs naturally with a crystalline structure as a string.  To this day asbestos deposits are throughout the world and are still exploited in Canada, Australia, parts of Africa and Russia.

Asbestos is usually found mixed with other minerals and is dangerous only if its broken crystal fibers float in the air and DES have been hectic.

Over the years, asbestos has had many uses. Some of the products that once had asbestos as an ingredient include: pipe insulation, automotive brakes, shingles, insulation panels for walls and wardrobes. Although the federal government suspended production of most asbestos products in the early 70′s, the installation of these products continued through the late 70′s and even early 80′s. Asbestos fibers can be released into the air during the renovation of older buildings.

Almost everyone has been exposed to asbestos at some stage in their life, because asbestos fibers have been used frequently in modern industry and are also found in nature. Free-floating fibers are lightweight and can remain airborne for very long periods of time.

The risk of developing asbestos related diseases varies with the type of industry in which exposure occurs and the extent of exposure.

Generally, the asbestos fibers are long, thin, firm and too small to be seen. There are two types of asbestos is a serpentine that looks like a corkscrew, and the other is amphibole has long needle-like fibers. When the fibers float in the air, are easily inhaled. In most cases the fibers must breathe in high concentrations over long periods of time to consider a health concern for people.

Asbestos fibers can easily enter the lungs and become trapped in lung tissue because they are very small. When these fibers are inhaled, can penetrate and irritate the lungs. The white blood cells attack the fiber, and eventually heal the site. Asbestos fibers break down extremely slowly over time. The fibers can remain in the body for many years and accumulate in the lungs. Because the membrane is attached to lung and respiratory tract, the fibers can not be expelled by coughing or detached from the lung tissue. As exposure to fibers increases by breathing more fibers, the risk of getting sick person also increases since scarring occurs. Diseases associated with exposure to asbestos does not appear for several years, possibly up to 15 to 40 years after exposure. But that will also vary depending on the amount of exposure and can lead to mesothelioma.

Individuals who have been exposed (or suspect they have been exposed) to asbestos dust at work or at home via a family contact should inform their doctor to advise of exposure history and any symptoms. They may recommend a thorough physical examination, including chest X-rays and pulmonary function tests. The interpretation of chest X-ray may require the assistance of a specialist with expertise in reading X-rays for asbestos-related diseases. It is possible that other medical tests are necessary.